Bullock Creek's Church commits to play basketball at NU

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 22, 2007

Rachel Church believes that the Northwood women's basketball program is on the verge of a major breakthrough.

Now, she has the chance to help make that happen.

Church, a junior at Bullock Creek and one of the area's top scorers the past three years, verbally committed recently to attend and play basketball at Northwood starting in 2008.

"I really like their (basketball) program, and I like (Timberwolves' coach Jeff) Curtis," she said.

During her prep career, Church has been a big part of helping transform the Lancers from a middle-tier team into a Tri-Valley Conference power.

Lancer' coach Justin Freeland thinks Church likes the idea of possibly being part of another success story.

"I've seen three or four (Northwood) games this year, and I think you can definitely tell they're heading in the right direction," Freeland said. "And I think Rachel feels their program might mirror ours a little bit. I think she's excited about helping them get over the hump the same way she did with us."

Church completed her junior season this past fall with 1,046 career points, already third on the Lancers' all-time list. In all likelihood, she will probably finish her prep career as the school's all-time scoring leader, and she has earned All-TVC First Team honors three years running.

She will be joining a Northwood program which, despite high expectations, is 3-14 in the GLIAC with one game remaining.

That doesn't seem to faze her.

"They're right there," she said. "They just need to get over that hump."

Church added that she likes NU's small campus, as well as the fact that she will be playing with some old friends - current NU freshmen Jodi Ostergren, Sara Pawlaczyk, and Jenny Theisen, all of whom have been Church's teammates in AAU ball.

"I really like that I've had the chance to play with some of them before. They're familiar faces," she noted.

Church added that she seriously considered attending either Central Michigan or Grand Valley State. Ultimately, though, she decided that Northwood had the most to offer her both athletically and academically. She wants to major in sports management.

Freeland has no doubt that Church will succeed on the court at NU.

"I'm very confident that she'll be able to shoot the ball effectively at the next level," he said. "And she has the work ethic to match the skill, which is what you need to be successful at the next level."

Freeland added that Church will need to work on her ballhandling and passing against defensive pressure to prepare for life in the GLIAC.

"Right now, she can get her shot off (against anyone), and I think she'll be able to compete (in the GLIAC)," he said. "But she's going to see the kind of pressure on a daily basis that you see only on occasion in high school."